(Washington, D.C.) The week-long trial before a three-judge federal court begins on Monday, August 27th in South Carolina v. United States, a case involving South Carolina’s restrictive photo identification law. The trial begins at 9 a.m. in Courtroom 28A (6th Floor) at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, 333 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C.

(Washington, D.C.): A three-judge federal district court in Florida v. Holder rejected Florida’s proposal to dramatically reduce its early voting period in five counties, while approving a new voting requirement for registered voters who move between Florida counties and seek to vote in their new county of residence.

Because parts of Florida are covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, each of these voting changes were required to first be approved by the U.S. Department of Justice or a federal court in Washington, D.C. before they could be implemented.

The picture of who will be the Louisiana Supreme Court's next chief justice may be muddy, but one aspect is perfectly clear: When it comes to the public portion of the fight, Justice Bernette Johnson is winning. Although it's strictly an administrative issue, Johnson's quest to become the state's first African-American chief jurist has taken on the air of a full-throated, mission-driven and confident political campaign waged under the banner of the civil rights movement.

(Reuters) - A judge in the election battleground state of Pennsylvania on Wednesday rejected an effort to block the state's voter identification law, which civil rights groups argued discriminates against minority voters.